83 FR 4119 - Petition for Waiver of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 19 (January 29, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 19 (Monday, January 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4119-4120]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01581]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2017-0127]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    Under Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this 
provides the public notice that on December 7, 2017, Dakota, Missouri 
Valley & Western Railroad, Inc. (DMVW), petitioned the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions 
of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 
229. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-2017-0127.
    Specifically, DMVW seeks a waiver of compliance from a portion of 
49 CFR 229.47, Emergency brake valve, for five SD50 locomotive units 
(Numbers 5408, 5418, 5439, 5451, and 5454) and three SD60 locomotive 
units (Numbers 5500, 5501, and 5544). The five SD50 units were 
purchased from Canadian National Railway (CN) on December 4, 2008, and 
the three SD60 units were also purchased from CN on September 15, 2017. 
Upon purchase of the three SD60 units, DMVW discovered that CN had a 
previous waiver of compliance from 49 CFR 229.47 for these units.
    The eight units now owned and operated by DMVW are all of the same 
car body type and all are not equipped with the rear conductor brake 
valve. Each of the units have rear walkways and switch style steps, 
thus allowing the engineer to see the person riding on the back along 
with radio communication. These units will be used in road service and 
will always be paired together. DMVW has been operating the SD50 units 
for almost 10 years and have not had any incident or reason to need the 
rear brake valve. DMVW believes that 49 CFR 229.47 pertains to covered 
car body units with no rear walkway or switch style steps. Therefore, 
DMVW is requesting a waiver from the requirement that an emergency 
brake

[[Page 4120]]

pipe valve be installed adjacent to the rear door for these eight 
units.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations 
Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal Holidays.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested parties 
desire an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, they 
should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and 
specify the basis for their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number and may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Website: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received by March 15, 2018 will be considered by FRA 
before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be 
considered if practicable.
    Anyone can search the electronic form of any written communications 
and comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the document, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better 
inform its processes. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including 
any personal information the commenter provides, to 
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. See also https://www.regulations.gov/privacyNotice for the 
privacy notice of regulations.gov.

Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-01581 Filed 1-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P